


i'll take you

by downtothewire



Category: Marvel, Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, just a lot of fluff, prom!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 20:06:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17669195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downtothewire/pseuds/downtothewire
Summary: Karolina planned to confess her feelings and invite Nico to prom, but everything changes when someone else asks Nico first.OR a deanoru prom one-shot.





	i'll take you

Karolina watches from the sidelines as Nico looks the most gorgeous she has ever seen her. She's sitting alone at a table nursing a cup of punch that's mostly the cheap vodka her and her friends snuck in. Nico's all the way across the room, miserable sitting on the bleachers, and she still looks the most beautiful Karolina has ever seen her.

She takes a sip from her cup and cringes as it burns her throat on the way down.

"Go talk to her," she hears behind her before Chase takes a seat at her table, looking completely danced out, his face flushed from exertion.

He places a glass of water he had in hand on the table, and pours protein powder into it - mixing both together to make a murky concoction. He sighs deeply as he takes a large gulp from it. Karolina watches in confusion, not one to judge, but decidedly judging because it looks disgusting.

She decides to ignore it though in favor of his earlier statement, "Talk to who?"

He arches his eyebrow at her as he drinks, putting his drink down to answer after a large swallow, "Don't act dumb. That's my thing," he says with a small smile on his lips, proud of his own joke.

She resigns, "I can't," she claims with a defeated sigh.

"Why not? She's all alone. Gert's trying to cheer her up, but you know you're the only one who can actually do that."

"She came with someone else."

"No, she didn't. She's sitting there alone," he contradicts her.

"She meant to," Karolina doesn't mean to sound spiteful, but she can hear the snark behind her own tone. She takes another sip from her drink to tamper down the unwanted feelings. She doesn't want Chase to know how she feels, even if, given by his line of questioning, it seems he already does. 

Weeks earlier Karolina had finally built up the courage to tell Nico how she felt about her. She was going to invite Nico to prom as a way to do it, and not like friends like they came last year, like the date that Karolina has always wanted it to be. She hyped herself up for days, but then, the day she was planning to do it after school when Nico was going to come over to her house, Nico got asked to prom by some random guy. In front of Karolina too, which only made it hurt more. She doesn't even know the guy's name. It started with a V. She thinks it might Vincent.

It's not like Nico was enthusiastic about it. All she said was, "I guess," as she looked at Karolina from the corner of her eye.

That day at Karolina's house, things were awkward. Karolina didn't know what to talk about. Her mind was fixated on watching her plan burn inside her head. Nico did tell the boy, Vance, two weeks later that she didn't want to go with him and she was sorry, but at that point Karolina had lost her courage.

When Karolina rang Nico's doorbell before prom - a black corsage in hand she got after hearing Nico would be dateless - she felt the air in her lungs trapped, unable to breathe. Her friends stood around her, a limo and driver behind them waiting, but Karolina was barely aware of anything surrounding her. Her heart beating rapidly in her ear throwing her off balance.

The door creaked open, and from behind it, Nico walked out in a slick black gown that clashed with Karolina's pink one covered in flowers. To Karolina, right now, Nico hung the stars in the sky. There was a bottle of vodka in one of Nico's hands and a pink corsage in the other, that made Karolina's smile grow exponentially. She knew what it was for.

She held out the corsage in her hand to Nico who gave her a small smile, and handed her hers. They didn't plan this.

"Hi," Karolina greeted her breathlessly looking Nico over, a blush tingeing her cheeks.

"Hey," Nico said back, her hand still laying on Karolina's wrist after placing the corsage there, "You look very pretty."

There was no longer any hope for Karolina, she became a mess. Her cheeks burned like she had a fever, "You-you do too." Karolina tried not to get too lost in Nico's eyes in that moment, but it was too hard - one look and she was gone.

"Um, not to interrupts, but are we going? We're gonna be late," Alex finally asked, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"Let them have their moment," His date, Livvie, scolded him and pinched his side. Alex melted as she spoke to him in the adoring chastising tone. Karolina was glad she pinched him, or she would have pounded him instead.

Nico was the one to blush then realizing what Livvie had just said, "What moment?" Karolina's heart sunk at the way she asked the question, the panic behind her tone. Karolina got the message loud and clear of what Nico thought of her, and she walked away into the limo dejected - sitting as far removed from the rest of the group as she could. Nico wanted to be there with someone else, Vaughn or whatever his name was.

And now, here they are at the dance, sitting across the room from each other at prom as friends - again, and Karolina playing with the corsage around her wrist absentmindedly.

Karolina has been purposefully avoiding Nico the entire night, not only in the limousine but at prom too. She's drinking alone in a corner - sulking about how her night turned out. That Nico would dare look that beautiful while she isn't her date.

"She's been staring at you waiting for you to do something all night," Chase tells her, finishing off the last of his drink, and interrupting her thoughts.

Karolina looks at Nico across the room, trying to test out Chase's theory, and there she is staring directly at Karolina. Nico offers her a small smile then blushes, before turning back and continuing her conversation with Gert.

"Come on," Chase encourages, "I'll go ask Gert, you ask Nico."

"That's not fair! Gert's your girlfriend!" Karolina protests.

"And you want Nico to be yours. Come on, Dean, off your ass."

He stands up and extends his hand for Karolina to take, which she reluctantly does. She follows him across the room, her head bowed in order to avoid any kind of early eye contact with Nico that might send her into a spiral.

"Dance?" Chase asks, and Gert is quick to stand up and jump from the bleachers to join Chase. They disappear into the crowd of people.

"Hey," Nico says softly, prompting Karolina to finally look at her.

"Hey," she says shyly.

"Are you enjoying your night?"

"It's okay, the alcohol's been helping. So, you know, thanks for getting us that," she offers, raising her drink.

"It's my pleasure," Nico shrugs, before the awkward silence over takes them once again. Karolina waits one, two, three beats before gathering the courage to ask.

"I-" they say at the exact same time, before Nico gestures for Karolina to continue. Karolina really wishes she hadn't and had just finished her own sentence instead, "I know you don't really like to dance, but would you like, maybe, want to dance? You know, with me?"

Nico immediately stands up from the bleachers, to Karolina's surprise, grabbing her hand, and dragging her into the crowd, blending in just as easily as Gert and Chase did.

Karolina hesitates, wondering where to place her hands, until Nico wraps hers around her neck. Goosebumps run down from her neck to her toes. She in turn wraps her arms around Nico's waist. Nico gives her the same small shy smile from before.

"I was wondering when you would ask," Nico tells her.

"You were?"

Nico nods, and tightens her grip on her neck, pulling Karolina closer and resting her cheek lightly against her chest.

"Nico?" Karolina asks, as they sway in sync with each other but a bit off rhythm.

She pulls her head back to look up at Karolina, "Yeah?"

"Why did you say yes to that guy?"

"Honestly?"

Karolina nods, even though the question is probably rhetorical.

"Because I didn't think you would ask."

Karolina freezes, shocked at the answer, instinctively tightening her grip on Nico's waist. Partly to make sure they're going to finish the talk, and partly to ground herself.

"Is that why you said you'd go with Vincenzo-"

"Victor."

"Victor?"

Nico seems to ruminate for a moment before conceding, "Yeah. I mean Victor's nice, but he's not, you know..." she trails off.

"Not what?"

"Not you," she finishes, punctuating the last syllable and looking directly at Karolina.

"You know, I was going to ask you that day at my house."

"You were?"

"Mhm."

"Oh."

Karolina leans her forehead against Nico's, hoping to erase the disappointed look from her face. Nico's hands slide from the back of her neck to rest on her cheek. She stands up on her toes, and brings her lips just a breath away from Karolina's - waiting for her to meet her halfway.

Karolina is frozen, however, too overwhelmed. Everything she has wanted since the 6th grade is being offered up to her, and she can't budge an inch to make it real.

Karolina feels Nico breathe on her lips three times. Their lips still don't connect.

"Oh," Nico says, her disappointed look back, "I'm sorry." Nico pulls away from Karolina, and Karolina lets her. Her arms slipping from around her waist. Karolina watches as Nico rushes off through the gymnasium doors.

It takes Karolina's brain time to catch up to the events that just happened. Could she really have everything she ever wanted? She shakes herself out of her trance, and runs after Nico. The doors swing behind her as she looks around the hallways, but can't find her. She paces up and down. Where could she be? Could she have left?

She finally gives up after running them for the third time, and slides to the ground against a row of lockers, defeated. She can't be in any classroom, they're locked, so it means she left. Nico left, and Karolina once again had everything fall through.

She hears the rusty door to the bathroom swing open, but she can't be bothered to stand up or hide her tears. The click clacks of heels follow her to where she's sitting down the hallway.

"Karrie?"

At the familiar nickname, Karolina looks up to see Nico crouching beside her. The make-up from her face gone. Karolina wonders why did Nico remove it, and what was she doing in the bathroom. She doesn't have time to let her mind wander for enough time to notice Nico's puffy red-rimmed eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Nico asks, "Hey, hey. It's okay."

When Nico leans in closer to wipe away the tear from her cheek, her finger now smudged with Karolina's eyeliner, something finally snaps inside of her. She leans in, and places a brief kiss on Nico's lips; barely enough to feel them.

"Karrie, you don't have to kiss me be-"

And Karolina knows what she's going to say and she doesn't care, because it's not true. So, she kisses her again, harder this time, more assertive - to let Nico be confident that this is what she wants.

They pull away, dazed and drunk on each other, rather than just the cheap vodka they were drinking before. 

"What took you so long?" Nico breathes against her lips. They sit side by side, their backs against the lockers, Karolina feeling Nico's shoulder rise and fall against hers. Their breathing slowly falling in sync with each other's.

"I don't know," Karolina tells her, "But we're here now."

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the song Thirteen by Elliott Smith, which was actually the inspiration for this entire thing. The melancholic, but hopeful tone in the song really drove the whole tone of the story.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this, and know that I love you for reading <3
> 
> twitter: downtothewire2, tumblr: downtothe-wire


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